A Doubles Warstory (ft. Punchshroom): No Guts, No Glory

Howdy! As we all know, battles can be shitty. But battles can be memorable as well, and some of those are written up into warstories. Yet, warstories are scarce, as few take the effort to write them. But then, Punchshroom and I had this battle, which I felt it was good enough to warstory. We quite often batle, and most of those battles are quite forgettable, some are somewhat close, some are quick because I derp up, and once in a while, they are ridiculously close.

Hello folks! Looks like I'm featured in a warstory that I didn't actually write myself, how about that? My buddy Aasgier decided to warstory this game, and it'll be interesting to express my thoughts in a more passive tone for a change. Let's start this!

I am using a stallish Rain Team, with Ferrothorn, Cresselia and Jellicent to absorb numerous hits. Conkeldurr and Latias to destroy stuff, and Politoed is just there to provide rain, basically, which helps Ferrothorn against Fire types, as well as to prevent Tyranitar, Hippowdon and Abomasnow to negate my Lefties from Turn 1 onwards. This works very well (it even allowed me to peak in the top-10 of the Doubles Ladder), usually... with one exception, which is when I am facing Punchshroom's hail team which is troublesome to beat for this team, and more often than not he beats me (which is good as it prevents my ego from floating up like a Drifblim). But we would be in for another interesting battle, that's one thing for sure... if I don't derp up.

I'm using a Hail Trick Room, which does really well to screw up weather teams and speedy teams alike, and utilising two "weathers" at once can give me the upper hand in a mirror match.All members work very well together, though Chandelure would only prove useful against Ferrothorn if not under Rain and Cresselia which is already manhandled by Escavalier. Abomasnow for Hail duh. Reuniclus and Chandelure help set up Trick Room while maintaining incredible offendive presence, Hitmontop is mainly for support while Kyurem-B can easily take out problem pokemon like Togekiss, Heatran or Milotic.

Punchshroom: changes to Top implementedSchoppen Aas: At the very end I caught you with a pair of correct predictions last game :PPunchshroom: yeah
Battle between Schoppen Aas and Punchshroom started!
Go! Jellicent!
Go! Conkeldurr!
Punchshroom sent out Reuniclus!
Punchshroom sent out Hitmontop!
The foe's Hitmontop intimidates Jellicent!
Jellicent's Attack fell!
The foe's Hitmontop intimidates Conkeldurr!
Conkeldurr's Attack fell!-1 Atk-1 AtkVS

Reuniclus and Hitmontop, a good duo to lead with. Since my Jellicent is immune to Hitmontop's attacks, Conkeldurr is only in to wreck Escavalier in case he leads with it. No Escavalier here, and Conk having no business to stay in on the obvious Fake Out or worse, Reuniclus Psychic, makes for an easy decision regarding Conk. Regarding Jellicent, I just Toxic Hitmontop as the residual damage on it would prove very valuable to me.

Ugh, already I don't like this: one hits really hard, the other likes to status things, and both are hard to wear down. Reuniclus can easily destroy Conkeldurr, and Aasgier knows that, so he won't be so foolish as to stay in, while I set up Trick Room. On the off chance Conkeldurr wants to be annoying with Rock Slide, Hitmontop can stop it and guarantee the Trick Room.

Things going as expected. TR is up, and two members of the Great Wall of China are holding him up for a while. He will most likely target Jellicent with Psyshock, so I use Protect, while Cresselia has nothing better to do than to use Psychic on Hitmontop, even if he will most likely switch Hitmontop out.

In case you haven't noticed by now, Aasgier's team consists of numerous pokemon that are very hard to beat down. Cresselia walls both my pokemon to hell and back, Hitmontop can't do anything to Jellicent and it got badly poisoned. I may have gotten Trick Room up, but I'm in a serious predicament.

Like I expected. Yet, I do have a problem. I have to predict well enough here, since it is far from certain he Megahorn's Cresselia because I did not use Protect yet. Yet, in case he DOES Megahorn, I Protect, and use Scald on Escavalier in the hope to land a burn.

My side ends up taking damage, although Psychic glances off Escavalier's armor. Psyshock can land a strong blow on Jellicent while Escavalier severely threatens Cresselia. A problem arises for Aasgier in that none of his Bug switch-ins in Conkeldurr and Ferrothorn will get OHKOed by Reuniclus's attack, meaning I could very well go for the barrage on Cresselia. However, the fact that Cresselia hasn't used Protect yet means that is too risky to try that. Calling the Protect, I switch to my Abomasnow to threaten Jellicent ad neuter their Leftovers, while Escavalier Protects to wait out Cress's Protect and Jelli's Scald.

Turn 3TRICK ROOMSchoppen Aas: Point is that I don't have an Escavalier counter that can also take Reuniclus' hitsPunchshroom: huhSchoppen Aas: I don't have a mon on this team that can take hits from both Escavalier and ReuniclusPunchshroom: well yes actuallySchoppen Aas: Ferro?Punchshroom: assuming you made Cent physically defensivePunchshroom: but since Ferro isSchoppen Aas: I seePunchshroom: i believe Jelli is SDefSchoppen Aas: TrueSchoppen Aas: ...but that will be fixed next game :PPunchshroom: this battle has shown me....Punchshroom: Top steals my momentum away....
Punchshroom withdrew Reuniclus!
Punchshroom sent out Abomasnow!
The foe's Abomasnow's Snow Warning whipped up a hailstorm!
The foe's Escavalier used Protect!
The foe's Escavalier protected itself!
Cresselia used Protect!
Cresselia protected itself!
Jellicent used Scald!
The foe's Escavalier protected itself!
The hail crashes down.
Jellicent is buffeted by the hail!
Cresselia is buffeted by the hail!
Jellicent restored HP using its Leftovers!
Cresselia restored HP using its Leftovers!100% -1 Atk100%VS89% 100% <> 100%

Ofcourse, ofcourse. With hindsight things look easy at times, and this is one of those cases in which in hindsight I would have done it differently. Now I have to think things through. Cresselia is possibly going to be skewered, and I don't want that to happen... yet. Wanting Ferrothorn to be in at full health, I pray Politoed does not have to take a crit as I switch him in Cresselia's place and Ferrothorn in Jellicent's place.

Works like a charm, Cress has used up her Protect and is forced to switch, though Reuniclus is no longer in the building. On the plus side, his Jellicent is in trouble too. I have Grass Gem on Abomasnow to boost its Giga Drain so that it will do severe damage to bulky Waters like Rotom-W, Jellicent, and of course Politoed. I'm not going for the Giga Drain yet when he still has Ferrothorn lurking, and he can't change the weather with Politoed right now lest he gets smacked by Megahorn and/or Blizzard.

Turn 4TRICK ROOMHailPunchshroom: the best part?Punchshroom: Toed can't switch in
Jellicent, come back!
Go! Ferrothorn!
Cresselia, come back!
Go! Politoed!
Politoed's Drizzle made it rain!
The foe's Escavalier used Megahorn!
Politoed lost 72.9% of its health!
The foe's Abomasnow used Blizzard!
Ferrothorn avoided the attack!
It's not very effective... Politoed lost 16.7% of its health!
Politoed restored HP using its Leftovers!100% 17%<> 100% 100%VS 89% 100%

There we go, and I feared immidiately I made a huge mistake here. Poli is at his last legs and I don't want Aboma to cancel out too many turns of Leftovers, so I have no other choice than to switch him out straight away. Ferro did not have to lose a 40%-ish from a Blizzard, which is nice. Despite them having the same typing, I decide to switch Jellicent into Politoed's place, as I expect him to target Ferrothorn anyway. Also, Jellicent can take everything Abomasnow can throw at it anyway, even a Grass Gem boosted Giga Drain won't do nearly enough. Ferrothorn is going to Seed Escavalier to recover some health which he will lose this turn, either from Focus Blast, or otherwise from Blizzard in case he expects Latias to come in and take the Giga Drain, and Ferrothorn is guaranteed to succeed since he outslows Punchshroom's entire team.

A dual switch is performed, and he switches in Politoed anyway....nearly losing the weather war as a result. At least the Rain caused Blizzard to miss Ferrothorn who wasn't taking mch anyway, while Politoed himself got hit (irony :P).This is a good chance to bring down Politoed, and since Abomasnow has a move that hits the physically defensive Ferrothorn harder than Escavalier can, I have my knight beetle charge forth and take out Politoed.

Turn 5TRICK ROOMRainPunchshroom: what did I just say lolSchoppen Aas: XDSchoppen Aas: He took more damage than I liked but I knew he'd survive
Politoed, come back!
Go! Jellicent!
The foe's Escavalier used Iron Head!
It's not very effective... Jellicent lost 27.5% of its health!
Ferrothorn used Leech Seed!
The foe's Escavalier was seeded!
The foe's Abomasnow used Focus Blast!
It's super effective! Ferrothorn lost 57.4% of its health!
Ferrothorn's Special Defense fell!
Ferrothorn restored HP using its Leftovers!
Jellicent restored HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Escavalier's health is sapped by Leech Seed!
The twisted dimensions returned to normal!62% -1 SpD 79%<> 17% VS 76% LEECH SEED 100%

There we go... but yet, though I expected this, it was not what I liked. The SDef drop was unfavourable, and I really don't want to push my luck with Focus Miss which would surely KO Ferrothorn now, and have to Protect despite Power Whipping the obvious switch in was quite tempting, as Escavalier has no business staying in here and he might very well predict the Protect on Ferrothorn. Jellicent can Toxic Abomasnow (considering Abomasnow cannot KO Jellicent regardless, despite the Grass Gem Giga Drain, but that deals 60% at most), which puts a further strain on his team as two of his Pokés threaten to die to residual damage over time, even though JelliFerroCress is unlikely to stall Punchshroom's team out (which is a common victory plan for this team).

Well Trick Room ended, but Ferrothorn was becoming a pain anyway, seeing as he survives another Focus Blast from Abomasnow. Esca failed to take the KO as Aasgier obviously still wants Politoed left alive. Esca is seeded and cannot take on either threat, merely serving as a health bank for Ferro. Seeing as Ferro is unlikely to Power Whip Esca and probably has nothing better to do than Protect, while Jellicent could Scald Esca and cripple him. Reuniclus makes for a safe switch-in while I have Abomasnow target Jellicent.

He opted to bring in Reuniclus and attack Jellicent instead. Jellicent easily tanked the Grass Gem Giga Drain because it is a bulky Mr. Pringles. TR is not up yet, so Jellicent, despite running minimum speed, is faster than them, and can safely Recover. Ferrothorn possibly has to take a Focus Blast from Abomasnow, as Reuniclus likely uses Trick Room. I can't do anything to stop his TR while Ferro is forced out, which is annoying, but leaves me with only one choice, and that is to bring in Cresselia in Ferro's spot.

I was honestly surprised at Grass Gem Giga Drain's pitiful damage output (I promptly switched to Wood Hammer after this fight), resulting in Abomasnow being Toxiced and puts my chances of winning the weather was at risk. Wanting to end Ferrothorn, I have Abomasnow shoot it down with Focus Blast, thus removing the hindrance to my Trick Room. I foresee no threat in Jellicent as status doesn't harm Reuniclus in the slightest.

This worked like a charm. Jellicent can take a hit or two more and Cresselia took pittance from that Focus Blast. I'll Scald Reuniclus to deal some chip damage to it, while I Psychic Abomasnow or whatever might switch in there. No reason to use any of Cresselia's other moves.

The lunar duck is back for more, easily soaking up my hits, while Jellicent Recovers its health, not what I wanted to see. Seeing that Jellicent is the one that should be KOed first, lest it burn Escavalier who can skewer Cresselia, I bring in my Black Kyurem to tear up the scene.

Turn 8TRICK ROOMRainPunchshroom: ...you aas D:
Punchshroom withdrew Abomasnow!
Punchshroom sent out Kyurem-Black!
The foe's Kyurem-Black is radiating a bursting aura!
The foe's Reuniclus used Psyshock!
Jellicent lost 66.1% of its health!
Jellicent used Scald!
The foe's Reuniclus lost 35% of its health!
The foe's Reuniclus was burned!
Cresselia used Psychic!
The foe's Kyurem-Black lost 19% of its health!
Jellicent restored HP using its Leftovers!
Cresselia restored HP using its Leftovers!100% 25% VS 65% BRN 81% <> 82% TOX

I landed an useless burn on Reuniclus, but the 35% chip damage could prove useful. What worried me, however, was that he brought in Kyurem-B, an absolute monster with some ridiculous bulk. Kyurem-B hits like a nuke and bar Cresselia and Ferrothorn, nothing can take its attacks. Wanting to preserve Jellicent against the possible Electric Gem Fusion Bolt, I bring in Ferrothorn, whereas Cresselia Protects.

Jellicent takes a hefty hit from LO Psychock, while Reuni sustains a negligible burn and Kyurem-B shrugs off Cresselia's weak attack. I have Electric Gem boosted Fusion Bolt to utterly destroy Water-types that resist Blizzard, but knowing he would see that coming and bring in Ferrothorn to waste my Gem, I bring in Aboma at the same time I choose Blizzard for a surprise attack.

I did not expect the Blizzard, and Ferro took more damage than I liked. Trick Room is still up, so it does outspeed everything Punchshroom has and can do something this turn. I was unsure if he would keep Abomasnow in, since it has to take Toxic damage if it does so, and as such, decided to Leech Seed Kyurem-B, as Kyurem's high HP stat would provide Ferrothorn with a sixth of his health every turn Kyurem-B would stay in, whereas Psychic deals some further chip damage to it.

Predicting him to switch Politoed in to cancel the Hail and neuter Blizzard and possibly save Ferrthorn, I prepare my Gem Fusion Bolt at Cresselia, leaving the task of KOing Ferrothorn to Abomasnow.

Turn 10TRICK ROOMHail
Ferrothorn used Leech Seed!
The foe's Kyurem-Black was seeded!
The foe's Abomasnow used Focus Blast!
Ferrothorn avoided the attack!
The foe's Kyurem-Black used Fusion Bolt!
The Electric Gem strengthened Fusion Bolt's power!
Cresselia lost 32.2% of its health!
Cresselia used Psychic!
The foe's Kyurem-Black lost 19% of its health!
The hail crashes down.
Ferrothorn is buffeted by the hail!
Cresselia is buffeted by the hail!
Ferrothorn restored HP using its Leftovers!
Cresselia restored HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Kyurem-Black's health is sapped by Leech Seed!
The foe's Abomasnow was hurt by poison!68% 45%VS 63% TOX 49% LEECH SEED

I did not expect the Focus Blast, and serious problems could have arisen here, and possibly my loss, had it hit. But Focus Miss made its nickname true and crashed into a nearby wall or something. On the other hand, the Fusion Bolt from Kyurem-B did not do too much to Cresselia, which is very helpful as its Gem is now gone. As I realized Fusion Bolt could easily KO Politoed and Jellicent even without Gem, considering their low health, I realized I could not bring it in yet, and accepted I would lose Leftovers recovery for a while longer. Cress is targeting Abomasnow with Psychic while Ferrothorn Protects because so, though I considered Seeding the inevitable switch-in, and I would have done so if Ferro would survive a Blizzard regardless, but remembering our previous encounters, I knew that might very well not be the case. Or, he might Focus Blast.

Unfortunately things turn ugly for me here: Ferrothorn dodges Focus Blast, Seeds Kyurem-B, and restores itself to nearly half its max HP, while Kyurem-B has been weakened into half as well. On top of that, I wasted my Gem, which honestly wasn't too bad since I worn down Politoed and Jellicent to near death. It's still pretty demoralizing though. Now that Ferro is back on its feet (vines?), I look for an alternative method to take out Ferrothorn. Chandelure is my best bet as it threatens Cresselia as well.

Turn 11TRICK ROOMHailPunchshroom: damnSchoppen Aas: BUUUULK :PPunchshroom: it's the miss that irked meSchoppen Aas: That's why I NEVER use Focus BlastSchoppen Aas: It always misses when you don't want it to.
Punchshroom withdrew Kyurem-Black!
Punchshroom sent out Chandelure!
Ferrothorn used Protect!
Ferrothorn protected itself!
The foe's Abomasnow used Blizzard!
Cresselia lost 18.9% of its health!
Ferrothorn protected itself!
Cresselia used Psychic!
The foe's Abomasnow lost 27% of its health!
The foe's Abomasnow's Special Defense fell!
The hail crashes down.
Ferrothorn is buffeted by the hail!
The foe's Chandelure is buffeted by the hail!
Cresselia is buffeted by the hail!
Ferrothorn restored HP using its Leftovers!
Cresselia restored HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Abomasnow was hurt by poison!
The twisted dimensions returned to normal!49% 45%VS 17% -1 SpD TOX 94% <> 49%

He withdrew Kyurem-B, whereas Abomasnow is now worse off than Politoed and will probably switch out as I would win the weather war if he does not, allowing me to bring in Toed somewhat safely, even moreso as Rain weakens Chandelure's very powerful Heat Wave. Predicting a Shadow Ball from Chandelure, I Protect with Cresselia.

Abomasnow is really worn down and I could lose it if I stay in for a turn longer, though Abomasnow has no beef against these two as of now. Predicting Ferrothorn to either Protect or switch, and also expecting Politoed to switch in, there isn't really a better time to set up Trick Room again, though I'd prefer to get rid of Ferrothorn first so my guys don't get Seeded. Nevertheless, I switch Abomasnow out for Kyurem-B to threaten Politoed, seeing as Abomasnow is in no shape to do so (and Aasgier would win the weather war regardless).

Ugh. Mispredicts away! With Ferrothorn and Jellicent outspeeding his TR monsters, though, it isn't too bad. If I do well, that is, because if I don't, I am in for problems. Predicting he would probably predict me to bring in Ferrothorn or Latias somewhere, I bring in Jellicent in Politoed's spot as he would most likely not expect that because they share their water-type while he knows I am not going to stay in.

Yep, Aasgier wastes his turns and lets Chandelure set up for free. Since Ferrothorn has escaped, there is no reason to Heat Wave, meaning I can focus my efforts on Cresselia. I'm not entirely sure why I had Kyurem-B go for Blizzard here when Fusion Bolt would've hit something, but I guess my lack of Attack investment deterred me from giving anything from getting a free switch, and I wanted to nail Latias or Ferrothorn with Blizzard if they want to switch into Fusion Bolt, even though Aasgier would've hesitated to do so thanks to Chandelure.

Cresselia is dead. Unfavourable, but Cresselia did most of the things it needed to do. Fearing the Protect on Chandelure as well as the Fusion Bolt from Kyurem-B, I decide to seed Kyurem-B, and to Scald Chandelure even though he might Protect. But, it would hit in case he uses Heat Wave, hopefully KO'ing it wit help of the rain. In case it does not KO while he actually uses Heat Wave, I know I would regret not picking Power Whip instead.

Turns out Cresselia survived Shadow Ball, only to get KOed by Blizzard, meaning Aasgier didn't get to attack that turn. A heavily weakened Jellicent and Ferrothorn stand up to oppose me, which is a problem because they are both slower than my pokemon. Nothing on my team wants to take a Rain-boosted Scald, so I have to trust in Chandelure to survive and take the KO.

Damn. Can my offensive pair turn this match around? They can both wreck shit, but TR is still up for two turns and Latias runs maximum speed, causing obvious issues under TR.

Chandelure survives Scald with a sliver of health left and goes for Fire Gem Heat Wave to KO Ferrothorn, thus preventing extra damage dealt on Kyurem-B. With the Gem boosting double-target Heat Wave to Fire Blast-like levels of strength, Ferrothorn could not survive that even with the help of Rain, with Jellicent following right after. Aasgier then reveals a deadly duo in Latias and Conkeldurr, both again being durable and powerful.

He brought in Reuniclus, taking some chip damage from Mach Punch. He might expect me to Detect with Conkeldurr, since Reuniclus can damage it to the point of beyond repair, so I go for Rock Slide instead. Conkeldurr outslows Chandelure and would surely KO it, and it would do more damage to Reuniclus than any other attack. I order Latias to smother Reuniclus as it will surely survive the Rock Slide.

I switch Kyurem-B out to have Reuniclus tank the Mach Punch and have Chandelure target Latias, only to have her Protect herself. I predicted Conkeldurr to do the same to avoid Reuniclus's attacks, so this time I have both Reuniclus and Chandelure target the now vulnerable Latias.

Turn 16TRICK ROOMRain
The foe's Reuniclus used Psyshock!
It's not very effective... Latias lost 35.9% of its health!
Conkeldurr used Rock Slide!
It's super effective! The foe's Chandelure lost 7.0% of its health!
The foe's Reuniclus lost 25% of its health!
The foe's Chandelure fainted!
Latias used Dragon Pulse!
The foe's Reuniclus lost 25% of its health!
The foe's Reuniclus fainted!
Latias restored HP using its Leftovers!
The twisted dimensions returned to normal!
Punchshroom sent out Escavalier!
Punchshroom sent out Hitmontop!
The foe's Hitmontop intimidates Latias!
Latias's Attack fell!
The foe's Hitmontop intimidates Conkeldurr!
Conkeldurr's Attack fell!71% -1 Atk 100% -1 AtkVS 76% 94%TOX<> 0% 0%

And suddenly, the game is much more even. Reuniclus and Chandelure, two huge monsters, are gone and pose no longer a problem. Hitmontop Intimidates Conkeldurr now, which is somewhat of a problem since I have no way of ridding Conkeldurr of the attack drops. Expecting he would predict me predicting the Feint, and thus that I would go for Thunder on Escavalier instead, he would Fake Out instead. Conkeldurr just attacks because he has nothing better to do.

Yet another demoralizing moment here. My misprediction cost me both of my Trick Roomers right when I needed them most. However, there's still a chance, albeit a small one. Latias is very dangerous due to her outspeeding my team (Conkeldurr is at least slower than Aboma and Kyurem-B) so taking her out is a priority, and I have a guaranteed way of doing so.

And... I overpredicted. I will lose the weather war now, but at this point it no longer matters. I have no other choice, and as such, it is time to flat out attack everything in sight.

This is pretty much what Hitmontop is primarily here or: guaranteeing kills. Intimidate and Fake Out were just bonuses. Now that Politoed is forced out, I can bring out Abomasnow in order to nullify their Leftovers recovery, as well as neutralizing boosted Water attacks.

Turn 18RainSchoppen Aas: Expected Fake Out this time though
Punchshroom withdrew Escavalier!
Punchshroom sent out Abomasnow!
The foe's Abomasnow's Snow Warning whipped up a hailstorm!
Politoed used Hydro Pump!
It's not very effective... The foe's Abomasnow lost 17% of its health!
The foe's Abomasnow fainted!
The foe's Hitmontop used Close Combat!
Politoed lost 22.9% of its health!
The foe's Hitmontop's Defense fell!
The foe's Hitmontop's Special Defense fell!
Politoed fainted!
Conkeldurr used Drain Punch!
The foe's Hitmontop lost 69% of its health!
The hail crashes down.
The foe's Hitmontop is buffeted by the hail!
Conkeldurr is buffeted by the hail!
The foe's Hitmontop restored HP using its Leftovers!
Conkeldurr restored HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Hitmontop was hurt by poison!Punchshroom: and miss a guaranteed kill? no way lol
Punchshroom sent out Escavalier! 100% -1 Atk <> 0% VS 39% 12% -1 Def -1 SpD TOX<> 0%

Abomasnow is gone but hail is up. Why he did not flat out order everything to attack surprises me, though he probably had no other option because his team is full Trick Room. Conkeldurr is alone now, and he has to pull through, and I question its ability to do so.

I sac my Abomasnow and keep Escavalier out of harm's way for a turn. Hitmontop also KOes Politoed, leaving just Conkeldurr as Aasgier's standalone pokemon. Wanting to get another Intimidate on Conk, I switch to my Kyurem-B to fodder it, or predict Aasgier to target Escavalier, who is the bigger threat.

There we go. The intial Intimidate prevents Mach Punch from KO'ing Kyurem-B, which I realized too late. I could have Drain Punched here... damn. Only one option left, which is to attack shit.. If he Protects with Kyurem-B, I lose regardless if I attack Kyurem-B, whereas if he does not Protect, I lose regardless if I don't attack it. Coinflip.

Had I known Kyurem-B would take the Mach Punch so well, I would've sacced either Hitmontop or Escavalier to end the game with Blizzard. It's too late for that now, and I initiate my relentless attack.

I survived a crucial turn. Now wondering if I can still turn this around, I realize that, if Hitmontop uses Close Combat or Fake Out, I lose, but I guessed Hitmontop's Feint would mess up Punchshroom's own predictions and that he would pick Feint instead.

I've no idea why I chose not to Protect there, as the extra damage Conkeldurr would have to take from another Iron Head would've made such a huge difference in this battle. Now I'm stuck with a pokemon slower than Conkeldurr and another near dead thanks to Toxic. I'll have to play impeccably well here.

Turn 21Hail
The foe's Hitmontop used Feint!
Conkeldurr lost 7.7% of its health!
Conkeldurr used Drain Punch!
The foe's Escavalier lost 26% of its health!
The foe's Escavalier had its energy drained!
The foe's Escavalier used Iron Head!
Conkeldurr lost 40.8% of its health!
The hail crashes down.
The foe's Hitmontop is buffeted by the hail!
Conkeldurr is buffeted by the hail!
The foe's Hitmontop restored HP using its Leftovers!
Conkeldurr restored HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Hitmontop was hurt by poison! 26% -2 AtkVS 13% 6% TOX

And all of a sudden, the match comes down to this. I have two choices, so has he. Will he Close Combat with Hitmontop, or Feint? If he clicks Close Combat, I win if I click Detect. If he clicks Feint, I win if I click Drain Punch. I thought over my decision, and made my move.

I Feint him to foil any Protect attempts intended to stall Hitmontop out of Toxic damage. Aasgier has 2 choices: He goes for Protect now for Hitmontop to get KOed by Toxic damage, then finish Escavalier by himself; or he could just attack Escavalier while my Feint fails to KO, resulting in both of my pokemon going down. Do I Feint again, or Close Combat?

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Turn 22Hail
The foe's Hitmontop used Feint!
Conkeldurr lost 8.5% of its health!
Conkeldurr used Mach Punch!
The foe's Escavalier lost 13% of its health!
The foe's Escavalier fainted!
The hail crashes down.
The foe's Hitmontop is buffeted by the hail!
Conkeldurr is buffeted by the hail!
Conkeldurr restored HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Hitmontop fainted!
Schoppen Aas won the battle! 26% -2 AtkVS<> 0% 0%

I accidentially clicked Mach Punch instead of Drain Punch, but it did not matter. I somehow managed to secure the victory as despite the moment Punchshroom gained a 3-0 lead and for the majority of the game, I expected myself to lose as I made some crucial mispredictions. But he made the final mispredictions, and I guess that is what counts at times. Good game, and I hope we will have more of those, Punchshroom!

Alas, I failed the last and most crucial prediction of the match and lost the battle because of it, and it slightly frustrates me as there were moments where I could have secured the victory. However, Aasgier's experience in Doubles led to him making better predictions, and managed to outplay me even till the very end. Good game Aasgier, and thanks for the fun match!

Nice warstory, Aasgier - and a great battle, too! Probably the best warstory Smogon had in a long while tbh. The battle was not one-sided, and both of you made some sick predictions to gain an edge over the other (double KOs are fun). The warstory also reflects how much more thought goes into Doubles turn-per-turn than Singles. Great formatting, too - having the field condition(s) displayed on top every turn was helpful for me. Kudos!

Wow, that was close at the end! Nice warstory, and epic ending. I like how you hid the last turn, to build up the suspense. It's nice to have both people comment, so you can see both thought processes.

Nice warstory, guys. I mean, who doesn't enjoy a good battle between friends? Hell, it even has Punchroom in it! You can't hate a warstory that involves Punchroom in any way (well, unless it has a Riolu in it x_x).